About Pomppa
Pomppa is a Finnish company focusing on durable, practical, and colorful dog clothing to protect them from the elements. Their coats are well-fitting and provide excellent coverage while still allowing free movement.
The Differences Between the Pomppa Coats
The Pomppa Coats have a similar design, but their material makes all the difference. While SadePomppa is a thin raincoat, PerusPomppa and ToppaPomppa are warm winter coats.
This little image from their website is very handy to understand how the different coats’ warmth and waterproofness compare. Adding extra warmth to any coat is always possible by using the JumpaPommpa sweater as a baselayer.
The details of the PerusPomppa Jacket
PerusPomppa is a versatile winter coat: providing warmth but not being extra thick or puffy. It is an ideal three-season coat for very short-haired dogs or a great winter coat for double-coated dogs. It provides excellent coverage, especially over the back legs, and comes in stunning colors and patterns.
The back and the collar section have a reflective stripe that makes the dog highly visible in the dark when light shines on them.
The coat is easy to put on the dog: just pull it over their head and secure it with one buckle around the waist. There is a leash hole on the back of the collar section so
A thoughtful detail is the curved design of the plastic buckle, which not only looks good, it also prevents the buckle from chafing the back of the dog.
The outer material is water-repellent (water column value of 5000 mm), durable, and rustle-free. The inside is made of a soft, anti-static teddy lining that doesn’t tangle the long fur. The coat is machine washable and dries fast.
Sizing Up vs. Sizing Down When Between Sizes
The first PerusPomppa coat we received was size 56. We used the same size KevytPomppa coat that we reviewed earlier. We mentioned that we had some issue with the KevytPomppa rotating on Mia when she is off-leash and were interested in seeing if we experience the same with the thicker, more “rigid” PerusPomppa.
Although it wasn’t that significant, it still rotated, especially when Mia took tight turns, like when playing fetch.
We talked it through with the Pomppa Team, and after trying out different adjustments with no luck to improve the rotation problem, they sent us a size smaller coat, to see how that works. The more colorful coat (called the Kartta pattern) is the bigger, and the Plum is the smaller version.
The next size down was size 52, which correlates to the dog’s back lengths in cm. Mia’s back is around 54-55 cm, so both sizes are close.
As you see in the photos above and below, the bigger size provides significantly better coverage, especially around the hips and tights. The wide belt also reached farther back, all the way to the back legs, covering much of the dog’s underside.
On the other hand, the smaller size provided a more “compact fit.” It flapped around a lot less in the wind and stayed in place better during off-leash times. It still rotated slightly but didn’t slide all the way to the other side as the bigger one did.
The smaller coat seems to bunch up a little more under the belt section when the dog runs at full speed, but that’s also just more visible because of the solid color; it also happened with the other coat somewhat.
The back coverage of the smaller coat was still decent, although it didn’t protect the back of the legs like the other one did. However, I felt that it was still great on days with strong wind because the wind lifted the back of the smaller coat a lot less.
The slit on the back makes this coat comfortable for dogs with high-tail carriage even if you size up.
Finding the ideal fit will depend on the dog’s body shape as well; however, going with the bigger size is generally recommended if the coverage is essential - like if your dog has joint pain on cold days. It works perfectly for calmer dogs or on-leash walks, stays in place, and protects the dog well.
Sizing down can give you a more compact fit that stays in place better while the dog runs around and it still covers all the most critical areas. It can also be a better choice for small/narrow-chested and male dogs, so the belt section doesn’t go back that far.
Mia is a very long and narrow dog - even compared to other Border Collies - so she is indeed hard to fit. I don’t think the larger coat would have rotated this much if Mia weren’t a “two-dimensional” dog and wouldn’t have such a slim waist compared to her length. When I added the JumpaPommpa as a base layer under the bigger size, the coat already stayed in place somewhat better.
PerusPomppa Jacket Review
I was very excited to see that Pomppa offered the Kartta pattern this year again, so we had a chance to pick this coat in Kartta. They change up some colors and patterns every year to introduce new stunning versions.
The materials used for this coat indeed feel durable and well-made; it handled our adventures without any sign of tear and wear. In addition, the coat’s warmth seemed perfect for Mia, who is active outdoors. We had a few genuinely freezing days with hurricane-strength wind when I added JumppaPommpa as a base layer under the coat, but besides that, it was a perfect winter coat for us as-is.
The only issue we run into is that the fresh snow gets stuck to the coat’s fur lining, and over time, there will be snowballs under the chest/belly piece. Mia also collected a fair amount of snow with the collar; it behaved like a funnel when she ran in deep snow, as shown in the photos below.
The other disadvantage of the teddy lining is that the coat isn’t super-packable since the insulation isn’t based on being puffy or airy that could be pushed out to fit in a pack. It’s still isn’t too bulky, but if you are hiking and backpack space is limited, it can be hard to fit the PerusPomppa in there.
I liked that the wide chest piece provided great coverage. Even when we walked on melting snow, the water repellent outer layer protected Mia’s chest and underside from the slush, and barely any got into the fur lining while walking on the roads.
The oversized collar makes this coat look very impressive and allows unrestricted head movement even for gear shy dogs. However, adding an adjustable, elastic tightener could prevent the snow from piling up under the dog’s neck and could also provide better protection on cold, windy days. It’s also true that tightening the neck section would make it possible for a dog to get caught on something in the woods.
Many of our followers reached out to let us know that they also struggled with the rotation of the coat’s end, and they wish it would come with elastic leg loops to hold it in place. Pomppa avoids adding these because they can cause chafing on the back legs, and they could also get stuck on something. Latter happened with us with another coat when Mia ran through a dense area in the woods.
Keeping the design more streamlined and straightforward can actually be safer, but there are always trade-offs with these decisions.
Review Summary
The PerusPomppa is a great quality winter coat that snugly covers the chest area and provides excellent hips and shoulders coverage. In addition, the slit-up leg openings still allow unrestricted shoulder movement.
The PerusPomppa wouldn’t be my top pick for extended adventures in deep snow due to the snow collecting on the chest piece and slowly melting in there. However, besides this specific situation, the coat proved to be very versatile, and we used it almost every day during this winter season.
Sizing down fixed our most significant problem with the rotation of the back of the coat, while the bigger size provided outstanding coverage that we utilized on chilly leash walks in town. The outer material performed very well on slushy roads and protected Mia’s underside and the lining from getting wet.
Where to buy
You can buy all their products on their website and can find retailers in many countries as well. In addition, if the buckle of the coat would break, you can also buy a replacement buckle on their website.
Mia’s measurements
Many of you asked Mia’s measurements to better understand the different products’ fit. Your best chance of finding a good fitting gear is always to measure (and remeasure) your dog. Even we grab the measuring tape before getting a new product - even though we tested a lot of them, and have a good feeling of her size by now.
I share her measurements below, but don’t go ahead and order the same size just because your dog is similar to Mia ;)
Shoulder height: 19.5 inches (50 cm)
Weight: 37-44 pounds (17-20 kg)
Widest chest circumference (where the most harness would have the chest strap): 25-26 inches (63-65 cm)
Neck circumference for collars: 15-16 inches (38-40 cm)
Back lengths: 21 inches (54-55 cm)
